


Toothiana

by Hobbyist_Writer



Series: Exception Verse [3]
Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-27
Updated: 2016-02-27
Packaged: 2018-05-23 13:06:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6117361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hobbyist_Writer/pseuds/Hobbyist_Writer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Guardians of Childhood are used to their charges slowly losing belief in them as they grow older. BUT! Sometimes...sometimes there are exceptions. Toothiana, Guardian of Memories, shares her own memories with someone who can ensure that they will not be forgotten.</p><p>Cross-posted from Fanfiction.net (under the title "Exception Verse, this would be Chapter 4).</p>
            </blockquote>





	Toothiana

Toothiana, last of the Sisters of Flight, the Guardian of Memories, but mostly known as the Tooth Fairy, was in the middle of giving directions to her fairies as they zoomed about. Brightly colored blurs went out carrying coins and came back bearing teeth of all kinds, zipping to their mother-of-sorts to let her exclaim over the precious treasures, then off again to pack them safely away in their respective containers.

One fairy flew straight to Toothiana but this one didn’t carry a tooth. This fairy had news of a different kind.

“Oh!” the Tooth Fairy exclaimed upon hearing what her little fairy had to say, she turned to give instructions to another group of fairies, “Hold the fort girls! I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

A couple of fairies came closer, they deposited a cylindrical case in Toothiana’s outstretched hands. It was about a foot in length and four inches in diameter. The case was covered in a fine, gold filigree depicting various scenes. A floating castle, gave way to a jungle, slowed into a glorious sky scene. Toothiana removed the elaborate cover and tipped the case over. A tight roll of paper slid out. The Guardian of Memories didn’t undo the silk ribbon keeping the papers rolled. Instead, she slipped the entire thing back into the scroll case and closed it with an air of finality. It was time.

Away she flew, together with a small entourage of mini-fairies. The ones left in charge sighed and watched wistfully until Toothiana was gone from sight. If one could understand their language, one would hear them console themselves saying that their turn would come soon.

The remaining tooth fairies went back to work, speedily doing their jobs as if Toothiana was still with them. After all, teeth waited for no fairy. There were teeth to be collected and coins to be distributed, so chop chop! There’s work to be done.

~ o ~ o ~ o ~

Earlier that evening, in a little town nestled at the outskirts of a large and old forest, there stood a house that was visited regularly by little, hummingbird-like beings that only a chosen few could see. It wouldn’t have been that unusual except for the fact that the house didn’t have anything the little beings usually sought. There were no little children and therefore no little teeth for them to exchange with bright, silver coins.

So why was this house so different? Why did the tooth fairies visit each night without fail? It was a treat, a much sought after duty to collect teeth from that little town because it meant that after, if they did their work quickly and well, that they could go visit the unusual house…and take part of the goodies left especially for them.

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” came a happy whisper.

The door to the back porch opened and closed. A young woman stealthily snuck out of the house. The bright-eyed woman gently laid her offering, a plate of finely sliced fruit drizzled with honey, on the wooden railing of the porch. As if waiting for exactly that, several brightly colored, feathered beings immediately surrounded her. They hovered in mid-air, even as they chittered happily at the woman.

“Hello.” She whispered to the faeries, because that’s what they were, “I added honey tonight.” She giggled at the expressions of the tiny beings, “Shh! It’ll be our little secret.”

Soon the plate was empty and the faeries flew off to finish their nightly duties; they flew with more energy thanks to the short break. The woman watched until they were gone. She was so engrossed that she didn’t notice the young man who came out until he slipped an arm around her waist. She jumped and gasped in surprise, then turned in the circle of the man’s arms to glare reproachfully at him.

“Don’t do that!”

He chuckled and pulled her closer to him, “Feeding the wildlife again?”

“You could say that.” She said coyly.

“Tell me a story.” The man said to her.

“Like the ones I tell the children at the daycare?” she asked, puzzled. She knew that her husband never really believed in her stories. He found them amusing, but that was all.

“I like listening to your voice.” He answered without a hint of embarrassment, “Is that a problem, wife of mine?”

She smiled at him, “No problem at all, husband.” Her words were swiftly followed by a kiss to her husband’s cheek. “Which story should I tell you?”

The couple re-entered their house; neither of them noticed the tiny faerie that quietly and quickly left its hiding place on the porch roof and flew off into the darkness.

~ o ~ o ~ o ~

The woman was asleep when Toothiana arrived at the small dwelling. She very nearly called the entire operation off but one of her more presumptuous helpers wiggled through the slightly open bedroom window. It took surprisingly little work to pull the young woman from her sleep. Bleary-eyed, she sat up in bed and squinted at the little fairy fluttering in front of her face. Insistent tugs and nudges, got her to look toward the window…and, more importantly, who waited outside said window.

All thoughts of sleep left the young woman when she saw the Tooth Fairy herself hovering outside her bedroom window.

Toothiana gestured to the young woman. She tried to keep her excitement to herself. This was not the time for the flighty Tooth Fairy. This was for the Warrior Queen she once was, for the memory of the Sisters of Flight.

The woman left her peacefully slumbering husband and quietly tip-toed out of the room. Toothiana flew down to the porch where her miniature helpers gathered just hours before. She remained in the air, surrounded by the rest of her retinue, and hovered where she knew the moonlight would illuminate her. It didn’t take long before the porch door creaked open and the woman stepped out. The woman glanced around, the mini-fairy that still accompanied her pointed up. Toothiana smiled smugly when the woman finally saw her. That gasp of awe was not feigned.

Toothiana allowed the woman to look her fill. She knew that she didn’t look even half as intimidating as she used to but…this woman was a believer and the Guardian in Toothiana wanted her to _see_ the Tooth Fairy with those widening eyes. If nothing else, Toothiana could give this memory to her.

The moment passed, Toothiana flew down and landed on the porch. She stood upright, letting her wings stay spread behind her, and faced the woman squarely.

It was a surreal meeting, Toothiana couldn’t help but think. The sun was barely peeking out of the horizon, so the two women met in a dim half-light. One still in bedclothes and only a thick robe with which to ward off the pre-dawn chill, and the other in colorful feathers of blue, green, pink and yellow. A seemingly ordinary human and the Tooth Fairy.

Toothiana almost dismissed her. How could this plain woman be the Story Teller the spirit world spoke of? Could she truly be the one Toothiana could entrust with _her_ story?

The silence was abruptly broken by the former Queen, “You’re the one who’s been feeding my fairies, then?”

“Yes?”

“The one they call Story Teller?”

A brief look of confusion flashed across her face, “I tell stories to the children at the day care but I don’t think that’s what you’re talking about.”

Toothiana was surprised. Did the woman not realize what her stories were doing? It wasn’t as if she wasn’t exceptional enough, being able to see the Guardians and other spirits even as an adult. But her stories, the way she delivered them to her audiences…they inspired belief.

“You _are_ the Story Teller.” Toothiana said with conviction, “Your stories strengthen the belief children have in us.”

“In the Guardians?”

Toothiana nodded, “And in other spirits.” She held up the scroll case. “This. This is my story. Who I am. Where I came from. How I became a Guardian.” Toothiana met the woman’s eyes and continued, “I entrust it to you.”

The woman’s hands trembled slightly but once the case was in her hands, the trembling stopped and the scroll case was held securely. She glanced once more at the Tooth Fairy. Toothiana gestured to the case and the woman took that as permission to study the object in her hands. The gold detail-work on the outsides of the case was examined minutely. Careful fingers followed the outlines of the images but didn’t touch. Each scene was studied, not a square inch of it was left uninspected.

“Open it.”

She looked up at Toothiana’s soft command but quickly complied. Careful fingers grasped the cap and pulled gently. The cap slipped off with a slight pop. A curious eye saw the roll of paper right away. She tipped the case over and the roll slid out. The case, for all that it was probably worth a fortune, was forgotten and tucked under one armpit. The silk ribbon that kept the pages together was removed efficiently and quickly.

There were maybe a dozen of the thin, unbound paper sheets. Each one was covered in tiny black script, interspersed with intricately detailed illuminations. Toothiana watched as the Story Teller exclaimed over the detail work in the manuscript. She could tell from the gentle, careful way the other female handled the documents that she had chosen well.

“I’ll take care of it.” The other woman said, suddenly looking up and meeting Toothiana’s eyes, “You can count on me…”

Toothiana nodded. She saw no need for words. The papers she’d gifted the Story Teller would speak for her. So she bestowed one last smile on her eldest believer. Toothiana turned her face upward then spread her wings and took to the air, leaving the Story Teller behind.

A sudden feeling caused Toothiana to turn around. She smiled when she saw the woman totally engrossed in her story, lost to the rest of the world. The silly girl has even forgotten to go back inside first! Yes, she’d chosen well. Her story would spread to the rest of her believers and maybe…maybe she’d loose the hummingbird wings! By the Moon, but she _missed_ her old wings!

~ o ~ o ~ o ~

_“Tooth…”_

_“No Jack.”_

_Toothiana turned to the next group of fairies. There were teeth to be gathered and unfortunately she just didn’t have any more time to spend with Jack. The energetic winter spirit popped up right in front of her face._

_“But—”_

_“No.” she said firmly, gently shoving his face away from hers and mentally squealing at his snow white teeth._

_“You just_ gave _her your story and that’s it?”_

_“Isn’t that what I just told you?”_

_“Tooooooth!!!”_

_“Jack! There isn’t anything more! I only met her that one time. Ask Sandy, I think he visits her semi-regularly. Now really, I’ve work to do and you’re distracting my fairies!”_

_The brat just cackled and spun in midair. “I can’t help it if they like me so much!”_

_Tooth rolled her eyes, “Go on, shoo! I’ll see you at North’s later. Don’t be late this time, you know he worries.”_

_Jack’s shoulders slumped and his nose wrinkled adorably, “I don’t get why North is insisting on these ‘family’ dinners.”_

_Toothiana smiled, “Because we_ do _need to interact with each other more often, not just during crises. You reminded us of that so if anyone is at fault, it would be you.”_

_“Awww no! Really?”_

_The last Sister of Flight laughed. The world wasn’t in danger, teeth were being collected in a timely manner, and children were catching on to the idea that the Tooth Fairy could be a warrior too. Most importantly, her friends were safe and happy. Life was good._

Fin...

 

...for now.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all. Thank you for being patient with me. This chapter fought me tooth and nail but I finally managed to complete it. Technically, it should have come before Bunny's chapter but Bunny insisted on being written first. (I think he was annoyed that I wrote North's chapter ahead of his.)
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this latest installment in the Exception Verse.


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